A long walk back to Dublin (COMPLETED)

Last year I gave myself the goal of walking to Disney from Dublin in order to motivate myself, details are here. I found it a great way to keep myself motivated and focused, so now it's time to start again. This challenge is going to be a bit bigger, I'm going to walk back the long way around, visiting all the other Disney Parks on my way (Aluani thrown in to break up the Pacific a bit :)).

So in total the journey is 18,163 miles, true to form I convert that to minutes and that's how long I walk. Based on the last time I'd expect to take approximately 11 months and I should cover about 1,200 miles. In order to break the journey up and give me smaller goals along the way, I have added in some places to see along the way, hopefully this will keep me focused. So my journey goes like this

Orlando
Talahasse :teeth:
Mobile :teeth:
New Orleans :teeth:
Houston :teeth:
San Antonio :teeth:
Ciudad Juarez :teeth:
Tuscon :teeth:
Phoenix :teeth:
Anaheim :teeth:
Hawaii :teeth:

Midway Islands :teeth:
Tokyo :teeth:
Fukoka, Japan :teeth:
Shanghai :teeth:
Fuzhou, China:teeth:
Honk Kong :teeth:
Hanoi, Vietnam :teeth:
Mandalay, Burm :teeth:
Chittagong, Bangladeshv :teeth:
Bogra, Bangladesh :teeth:
Mt. Everst, Nepal :teeth:
Lucknow, India :teeth:
New Delhi, India :teeth:
Multan, Pakistan :teeth:
Kabul, Afghanistan :teeth:
Herat, Afghanistan :teeth:
Sabzevar, Iran :teeth:
Tehran, Iran :teeth:
Tabriz, Iran :teeth:
Elazig, Turkey :teeth:
Ankara, Turkey :teeth:
Istanbul Turkey :teeth:
Sofia, Bulgaria :teeth:
Belgrade, Serbia :teeth:
Budapest, Hungary :teeth:
Graz, Austria :teeth:
Munich, Germany :teeth:
Zurich, Switzerland :teeth:
Dijon, France :teeth:
Paris, France
Le Harve, France :teeth:
London, England :teeth:
Cardiff, Wales :teeth:
Fishguard, Wales :teeth:
Wexford, Ireland :teeth:
Lucan (Dublin) :teeth::teeth::teeth::teeth::teeth:
 
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So I started yesterday and actually got 2 walks in

21/02/15 - 77m
21/02/15 - 55m
22/02/15 - 54m

Total 186m, 1.02% of total and 85% of the way to Talahasse.
 
Off to a flying start

23/02/15 - 25m
23/02/15 - 53m
24/02/15 - 53m

So I also decided to try and find out 3 new things about the places I pass on the way (shouldn't be too difficult :rotfl2:)

First up, Tallahassee

1. I never knew that it was the state capital of Florida, always had just assumed that it was Miami
2. I also never knew that it has the 2nd oldest police force in the US, preceded only by the Philadelphia Police
3. It's a sister city of Sligo in Ireland :thumbsup2
 


Wow, knew it had been a while, but not that long.

Anyways, walking is going ok, life and horrible weather has been getting in the way a bit, so I'm not quite as far as I'd like. Probably about 6-7 days behind schedule. So the update is as follows:

25/02/2015 - 53m
01/03/2015 - 54m
03/03/2015 - 26m
04/03/2015 - 53m
07/03/2015 - 52m
08/03/2015 - 54m
09/03/2015 - 54m
10/03/2015 - 55m
11/03/2015 - 54m
14/03/2015 - 54m
15/03/2015 - 79m
17/03/2015 - 57m

On my quest for 3 new things to learn, well, as expected that is proving really easy :) problem is deciding which 3 to choose.

Mobile
  1. Went from part of French Louisiana to British West Florida to Spanish West Florida to Republic of West Florida to Mississippi Territory to Alabama
  2. Was a major part of the ship building efforts during WWII
  3. First African American Mayor elected in 2005

New Orleans
  1. That the Mardi Gras can trace it's roots back to the early 18th century
  2. It's one of the top 10 most visited cities in the US
  3. The port has the longest wharf in the world

Houston
  1. Is the 4th most populace city in the US
  2. Was only founded in 1836
  3. Sister city of Perth in Australia (my SIL is from there)

San Antonio
  1. Has a Trinity University (so does Dublin but it's called Trinity College)
  2. Claims to be the birthplace of Chilli (as in the spicy stew)
  3. Is home the the UASF Basic Military Training, the only one in the US
 
Bit of an improvement this week, have caught up a bit, would have been more had it not been lashing rain tonight :(

18/03/2015 58m
19/03/2015 22m
20/03/2005 34m
21/03/2015 52m
21/03/2015 59m
22/03/2015 60m
23/03/2015 30m
23/03/2015 53m
24/03/2015 22m
24/03/2015 58m
25/03/2015 32m

So last time I was about 70% of what I had scheduled, now I'm up to 82%. Would really like to be back on track by the time I get to Anaheim but I don't think that's a reasonable expectation. We'll see
 
Well, Anaheim has come and gone, still behind schedule and now heading to the long trek across the pacific, 35% of the total journey. It's been really hard to keep to the schedule, just 1 or 2 missed days really begin to add up, hopefully as the weather improves I'll not only catch up, but even build up a bit of a buffer. So since last report:

26/03/2015 33m
26/03/2015 33m
27/03/2015 32m
28/03/2015 41m
29/03/2015 53m
30/03/2015 24m
31/03/2015 62m
01/04/2015 23m
01/04/2015 60m
03/04/2015 22m
04/04/2015 65m
05/04/2015 65m
06/04/2015 65m
07/04/2015 30m
08/04/2015 61m
10/04/2015 30m
11/04/2015 54m
12/04/2015 70m
13/04/2015 72m

My new waypoints hit are:

Ciudad Juarez
  1. It's on the Rio Grande
  2. A major point of entry to the US, almost 23m crossing in 2008
  3. Unfortunately has a major crime problem
Tuscon
  1. Sister city to Roscommon in Ireland (my mother's home town)
  2. Has a 'Stupid Motorist Law' to try and stop people driving into flooded areas
  3. Hosts one of the largest Gem & Mineral shows in the world
Phoenix
  1. Most populous state capital in the US
  2. Sister city to Ennis in Ireland
  3. The Miranda Warning originated from here
Anaheim
  1. Tiger Woods is from here
  2. Was formed by 50 German families
  3. The band 'No Doubt' is from there, one of my favorites
 


So it's been a long time again. Merrily making my way across the pacific. Slowly but surely. No more waypoints to date, should have been at Hawaii by now, but struggling to catch up on previous lost time, still 82% of where I should be. Oh, and I need new shoes :)

14/04/2015 71
15/04/2015 71
18/04/2015 60
19/04/2015 60
19/04/2015 41
20/04/2015 33
21/04/2015 73
22/04/2015 34
25/04/2015 71
26/04/2015 72
27/04/2015 72
28/04/2015 72
29/04/2015 67
03/05/2015 42
06/05/2015 72
11/05/2015 23
11/05/2015 72
12/05/2015 29
12/05/2015 71
13/05/2015 28
13/05/2015 71
14/05/2015 25
15/05/2015 28
16/05/2015 71
16/05/2015 72
18/05/2015 23
19/05/2015 73
20/05/2015 27
20/05/2015 71
21/05/2015 38
23/05/2015 74
24/05/2015 74
24/05/2015 55
 
25/05/2015 28
25/05/2015 73
26/05/2015 48
26/05/2015 73
27/05/2015 33
27/05/2015 53
30/05/2015 63
31/05/2015 60
02/06/2015 73
03/06/2015 27
03/06/2015 53
06/06/2015 73

Week before last was really good, average 71m per day, my best week so far. Last week, though, the weather turned bad again, only managed 43m per day :(

But anyway, happy days, made my second Disney park, Aluani :)

So 3 things I didn't know about Honolulu
Bette Midler was born there
The Airport has a Reef Runway, the first major runway constructed off shore. It was a designated alternate landing for the Space Shuttle. I bet it's beautiful to land there :)
It has such a beautiful climate, 25C-28C average 12 months of the year, bliss
 
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07/06/2015 53
08/06/2015 32
08/06/2015 75
09/06/2015 33
10/06/2015 34
10/06/2015 75
11/06/2015 43
11/06/2015 30
13/06/2015 64
14/06/2015 60
15/06/2015 30
16/06/2015 28
20/06/2015 33
20/06/2015 35
20/06/2015 72
21/06/2015 74
22/06/2015 38
22/06/2015 71
23/06/2015 39
23/06/2015 71
24/06/2015 29
24/06/2015 63
25/06/2025 29
25/06/2015 27
26/06/2015 30
26/06/2015 32
27/06/2015 60
27/06/2015 53
28/06/2015 105
29/06/2015 40
29/06/2015 74
30/06/2015 30
30/06/2015 72
01/07/2015 27
01/07/2015 72
02/07/2015 29
02/07/2015 40
03/07/2015 74

Another 4 weeks gone, man time is flying. So I got to Midway Islands and am on my way to Tokyo. Had a really good week last week, managed an average of 92m per day and I'm really making inroads to my backlog. Most days now I get a walk in at lunchtime when at work and that is really helping. So early August (3rd or 4th) I'm due in Fukoka in Japan, which is the half way mark of my journey so I'm really hoping that I can be back on schedule by then.

So what did I learn about the Midway Islands that I didn't know:

  1. They are not considered part of the Hawaiian group, I thought they were
  2. For such a small place it has a huge population of seabirds, 3,000,000 or therabouts, particularly Albatrosses
  3. There is on going work to try and remove all non native plantlife from the island
Most likely I won't do another post till I reach Tokyo so here's where I'm at now

Totals
Time 6,706
Km 693
kCal 71,285
Progress 36.92%
Steps 912,615
 
Got 2 walks in yesterday and today and so happy, my best week ever, average of 105m per day :) Go me !!!!

04/07/2015 71
04/07/2015 62
05/07/2015 73
05/07/2015 72

So I'm now down from a high of 19 1/2 hours behind schedule to only 7 1/2 hrs. I'm feeling a lot more confident now of catching up by Fukoka. And finally I reckon that I'll make the 1,000,000 steps milestone this week :) I'll keep you posted
 
:cool1: Another really good week, average of 103m per day:cool1:

06/07/2015 29
06/07/2015 60
07/07/2015 26
07/07/2015 41
08/07/2015 42
08/07/2015 64
09/07/2012 37
09/07/2015 33
09/07/2015 28
10/07/2015 22
10/07/2015 60
11/07/2015 91
11/07/2015 38
12/07/2015 87
12/07/2015 66

So now I'm only 102m behind schedule, should easily catch that up this week. I also passed the 1,000,000 steps milestone on Thursday :thumbsup2
 
Great news, I've caught up at last. So for the first time since the very early days I'm ahead of schedule. Only 48m but it's a start :cool1:

13/07/2015 38
13/07/2015 68
14/07/2015 39
14/07/2015 66
15/07/2015 38
15/07/2015 66
 
:cool1: reached Tokyo 5 days ahead of schedule. Been really determined and it's paying off.

17/07/2015 23
17/07/2015 67
18/07/2015 51
18/07/2015 65
19/07/2015 86
19/07/2015 65
20/07/2015 39
20/07/2015 67
21/07/2015 34
21/07/2015 66

So 3 facts about Tokyo

  1. It's not really a city, it is a mixture of a city and a prefecture (administrative jurisdiction).So it's a bit like a built up county
  2. It has the most Michelin star restaurants in the world
  3. Some islands that form part of Tokyo are as far as 1,150 miles away
 
Yeah, I've made it to the halfway point, and nearly 10 days ahead of schedule :)

22/07/2015 65
23/07/2015 39
23/07/2015 28
23/07/2015 26
24/07/2015 29
24/07/2015 67
25/07/2015 120
26/07/2015 66
27/07/2015 42
27/07/2015 41

Totals
9,155 minutes so far
948km or 593 miles
97,981 Calories
1,249,016 Steps
50.40% Progress

the last 5 weeks have been tough but worth it. My target is 55m per day but over these weeks I have averaged 99m per day. I'm tired but happy :)
 
Have passed Shanghai on the way to Honk Kong now

28/07/2015 40
28/07/2015 67
29/07/2015 34
29/07/2015 66
30/07/2015 38
30/07/2015 28
30/07/2015 27
31/07/2015 34
01/08/2015 66
01/08/2015 65
02/08/2015 65

So 3 facts about Fukoka and Shanghai

Fukoka first.
It was one of Newsweeks 10 most dynamic cities in 2005
It has an annual festival Yamakasa dating back to 1241
It is a sister city to Atlanta Georgia

Shanghai
It's the largest city (by population) in the world
It has 72 sister cities
It was the birthplace of Chinese film

Oh, and finally, I have just passed the 1,000km mark (about 625 miles)
 
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Just had my best week ever :) Average of 113m per day!!!

So now I'm actually further ahead than I ever was behind, it feels good :) I'll be going on holidays for 10 days in about two weeks (not Disney this year unfortunately). Whilst I'll be doing a lot of walking it will me more of strolls around enjoying ourselves than my 'walks'. I do hope that I will get some in to at least keep up and not loose ground on my gains, but only time will tell if that's possible, it is a holiday after all :) At the very worst and I do absolutely no 'walking' I'll still be 10hrs ahead of schedule.

03/08/2015 64
03/08/2015 67
04/08/2015 87
04/08/2015 67
05/08/2015 67
06/08/2015 42
06/08/2015 26
07/08/2015 68
08/08/2015 83
08/08/2015 65
09/08/2015 88
09/08/2015 67

So 2 more waypoints hit

Fozhou, China
  • There have been remains of a culture dating back to 5,000BC found in the city
  • It was the site of one of China's first experiments in Western Technology with the founding of a Naval Shipyard
  • It has one of the oldest surviving wooden structures in China (from 964AD)
Hong Kong (my 5th and penultimate park, though Paris is a long way off)
  • Hong Kong, by itself, is the 45th largest economy in the world
  • Hong Kong women are the longest living demographic group in the world
  • It has the most skyscrapers in the world
 
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Another good week, averaged 111m per day.

10/08/2015 39
10/08/2015 67
11/08/2015 39
11/08/2015 67
12/08/2015 44
12/08/2015 66
13/08/2015 37
14/08/2015 39
14/08/2015 67
15/08/2015 21
15/08/2015 70
15/08/2015 66
16/08/2015 87
16/08/2015 66

Reached Hanoi in Vietnam.

  • PWC have forecasted that Hanoi will be the fastest growing city in the world, in terms of GDP, from 2008 to 2025.
  • It as the largest underground shopping mall in Asia
  • It was the Capitol of French IndoChina
So on I go, 5 more days and I start my holiday, can't wait
 
Ok so it's been a really long time, 6 weeks.My holidays have been and gone, in fact a long distant memory at this stage :(.

I got quite a bit of walking in though during the holidays was great and have managed to keep up the pace and am constantly increasing my gap against the target.

So in the last 6 weeks
I am now at 80% of my target and 44 days ahead of schedule
I'm only 10,000 steps away from 2,000,000 steps overall

These are my walks since the last post:
17/08/2015 38
17/08/2015 67
18/08/2015 39
18/08/2015 65
19/08/2015 74
20/08/2015 85
20/08/2015 65
23/08/2015 41
23/08/2015 32
24/08/2015 51
25/08/2015 90
25/08/2015 14
26/08/2015 46
27/08/2015 50
28/08/2015 88
29/08/2015 87
30/08/2015 80
31/08/2015 63
01/09/2015 43
01/09/2015 53
02/09/2015 39
02/09/2015 65
02/09/2015 34
03/09/2015 23
03/09/2015 16
03/09/2015 25
04/09/2015 15
05/09/2015 60
05/09/2015 60
06/09/2015 64
06/09/2015 67
07/09/2015 34
07/09/2015 61
08/09/2015 37
08/09/2015 60
09/09/2015 28
09/09/2015 55
10/09/2015 16
10/09/2015 86
12/09/2015 55
13/09/2015 87
13/09/2015 60
15/09/2015 43
15/09/2015 65
16/09/2015 32
17/09/2015 28
17/09/2015 18
17/09/2015 21
18/09/2015 67
19/09/2015 87
20/09/2015 84
20/09/2015 55
21/09/2015 29
22/09/2015 38
22/09/2015 67
24/09/2015 43
24/09/2015 18
24/09/2015 21
26/09/2015 90
26/09/2015 66
27/09/2015 86

And these are the waypoints that I reached

Mandalay, Burma
  • Mandalay traffic has a culture of 'anything goes'. It's chaotic
  • The City's populations is nearly 1/2 Chinese now
  • George Orwell lived there for a time
Chittagong, Bangladesh
  • It was the site of the Declaration of Bangladesh Independence in 1971
  • The British Council supervises O and A level exams here
  • In 1991 a cyclone left nearly 10,000,000 million people homeless
Bogra, Bangladesh
  • Was a crucial area in the battle for independence
  • Is often referred to as the 'town of banks'
  • It's a major producer of Red Chillis
Mt. Everst, Nepal
  • The youngest person to reach the summit was 13, Jordan Romero
  • 2 people have reached the summit 21 times, Apa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi
  • Although the highest mountain it's not the furthers from the centre of the earth, that is Mt Chimbaorazo in the Andes
Lucknow, India
  • It's a major IT hub in India
  • It was India's first CCTV city with over 9,000 cameras throughout the city
  • Handicrafts account for 60% of it's exports
New Delhi, India
  • Construction only started in 1911
  • Is ranked as the World's most polluted city by the WHO
  • It is renowned for its beautifully landscaped gardens
Multan, Pakistan
  • Is one of the oldest cities in the world, dating back 6,000 years
  • Is known as the City of Surfi and City of Saints due to the large number of shrines and saints there
  • Is a major agriculture city
Kabul, Afghanistan
  • It has no train service at all
  • It's the 5th fastest growing city in the world
  • In 2012 it is estimate that $3.2bn was paid in bribes
Herat, Afghanistan
  • Known as the gateway to Iran
  • Was traditionally known fr its wine
  • Due to it's strategic position it has had a very turbulent past
Sabzevar, Iran
  • Is a large agricultural centre
  • Dates back to the first millennium BC
  • After the Mongol invasion was the first part of iran to move towards freedom
 
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Well, it has been a long, a very unactive 5 weeks. Between starting college at night, life and the not so beautiful Irish weather I've dropped way off the pace. But I'm still ahead of the initial target and hope to get back into it again soon.
 

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